The new legislative session begins January 4, 2027.
This statute defines homeschooling under Wisconsin law. In Wisconsin, a “home-based private educational program” is the legal name for homeschools. This concrete definition helps protect our inherent right to homeschool. This definition of homeschooling was carefully crafted to ensure the rights of all homeschooling parents, and to reasonably limit government interference and oversight. This law […]
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Wisconsin also has a compulsory attendance law that says all children between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school (Wis Stat 118.15). Subsection (4) states that attendance in a Home-Based Private Educational Program (homeschool) may be substituted for attendance at a public or private school. “(1)(a) Except as provided under pars. (b) to […]
The PI-1206 Homeschool Report, required for all Wisconsin homeschoolers each year, affirms that each Home Based Private Educational Program is meeting certain requirements. These requirements are listed in Wis Stat 118.165(1), which reads: 1. “An institution is a private school if its educational program meets all of the following criteria: (a)The primary purpose of the […]
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Under Wisconsin law, the primary purpose of your homeschool must be to provide a program of education to your own family unit. You may not operate a homeschool for any other primary purpose, like to evade compulsory school attendance (118.165(1)(e)), or to employ your children at your home business or farm, for example. Wis Stat […]
Please read the statutes carefully. Wis Stat 118.15(1), (4) and Wis Stat 118.16(5) Unexcused Absences and Truancy If you are following Wisconsin law for homeschooling, and have properly filed the PI-1206 Homeschool Report, your child is neither absent from school with an unexcused absence nor truant. If you are not following Wisconsin law for homeschooling, […]
No, kindergarten is not mandatory in Wisconsin. In 2009, Wisconsin enacted a new set of laws around kindergarten. One part of the new laws says that a school board may not enroll a child in the first grade in a public school unless that child has completed public school kindergarten. (Wis Stat 118.33(6)(cm)(1)). The law […]
Under Wisconsin law, a homeschool is “a program of educational instruction provided to a child by the child’s parent or guardian or by a person designated by the parent or guardian. An instructional program provided to more than one family unit does not constitute a home-based private educational program.” (WI stat 115.001(3g)) Parents must control […]
Since “home-based private educational programs” are not included in the state statute regarding immunizations (252.04), this statute does not apply to homeschoolers. Confirmation of this is also noted in the Department of Health Services publication, “Wisconsin School Immunization Requirements.” […]
A pupil enrolled in a home-based private educational program may attend up to 2 courses at a public school during each school semester if the school board determines that there is sufficient space in the classroom. A pupil enrolled in a home-based private educational program and attending a public school under this section may attend […]
The statute says: A school board shall permit a pupil who resides in the school district and is enrolled in a home-based private educational program to participate in interscholastic athletics in the school district on the same basis and to the same extent that it permits pupils enrolled in the school district to participate. Upon […]
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